rune hunter

Chapter 39 Returning to the City
Due to the unexpected crazy counterattack of the kobolds, the battle of the mercenaries on Red Stone Ridge changed from a "war of annihilation" to a "war of attrition".The rapid increase in the number of casualties made the leaders of the mercenary regiments feel heartbroken. The enthusiasm when they set out in the morning has been exhausted, and all that is left is the desperation and helplessness.In this world, benefits are always accompanied by equal risks, and those who are blinded by benefits are bound to suffer.

Laurana had offered her carriage so generously that El suspected she had struck another deal with Tony while he was gone.The ordinary iron ore that took a lot of time to sort out was thrown on the side of the road without hesitation, and she even threw out the simple signboard she made. If there is no higher profit return, it is hard to imagine the unscrupulous businessman girl Will make such an act of breaking the boat.

Even so, the space cleared in the carriage was the limit for three girls.Tony and Al squeezed into the driver's seat in front, and the rest of the group followed on foot.

The atmosphere in the carriage was very strange. Wei An didn't say a word after waking up, and then returned to the dazed state of not hearing anything outside the window.Tiana covered her face with a hood, deliberately avoiding El's sight.Laurana rested her chin, and her crescent eyes moved between El and Tiana with a half-smile.

The three girls had their own thoughts, and no one spoke along the way.Instead, the two teenagers who met each other couldn't bear the silence behind them, so they chatted casually.

"Are you here for an outing?" El asked Tony curiously.

"Actually, I plan to investigate some intelligence." Looking at his embarrassed appearance, Tony couldn't help shaking his head and smiling bitterly: "I just didn't expect the kobold's strength to exceed expectations. Judging from the situation this time, the government may need to dispatch troops."

"That's not necessarily the case. I think the Kobold will leave soon." El said confidently.

"Why?" His words caught Tony's interest immediately.

"I'm not a scholar, I'm just a hunter." El said: "Kobolds are humanoid creatures with independent culture, and they also have the habits of beasts. It is the nature of beasts to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. However, after the earthquake, the kobolds Suddenly and abnormally rushed out of the ground, and even their leader appeared. It seems to me that the kobolds are more like preparing to escape than counterattack."

"You mean, the kobolds want to escape from Redstone Ridge?" Tony recalled what Wei An once said, and a flash of light flashed in his mind: "If it is said that the kobold tribe dug through mines and migrated from underground to Redstone Ridge?" Ling, in order to escape some kind of enemy or disaster... Now that they are starting to run away regardless of the cost, does that also mean that those enemies or disasters will follow?"

"If you can understand the language of the kobolds, you might be able to figure out the situation by taking a prisoner." El jokingly said, "But I think the earthquake is very strange, and the kobolds can't make such a big movement."

Tony nodded, thinking of something again, his face became more and more serious.

While chatting and driving the car, they had already returned outside the city of Istaren before they knew it.The fiery red sunset was fading from the distant mountains, and the afterglow of the setting sun pulled the city wall into long shadows.

El was very sensitive to sight. He raised his head and saw a pair of vicious eyes staring at the direction of the carriage from a distance on the city wall.

Mad Dog Shet's complexion was as ugly as if he had eaten poop, and he seemed to be in a bad mood as well.El turned his head in the direction of his gaze, and found that Tony had a pure and innocent expression on his face, but a forced smile on his mouth.

Out of not wanting to cause trouble, El stopped the carriage outside the city gate. Tony reached out his hand and shook him very tactfully, and by the way greeted Wei An and Tiana, two girls who were absent-minded. .

"Today's matter... thank you." Tiana whispered in his ear as she helped El's hand out of the car.

"You're welcome, you can treat me to a big meal when you finish your important work." El said shyly.

The girl gave him an angry look, and shook the tattered cloak on her body.

Laurana took an inconspicuous bag from Tony, untied the tether and glanced at it, with a bright smile on her face.The unscrupulous business lady clapped her hands, raised her skirt and bowed to salute, and sent Tony away with very formal etiquette. The solemn attitude made people feel that it was not just as simple as after-sales service.

"Big harvest! Great harvest! Hahaha, good luck today, a windfall!"

Watching Tony and his party walk into the city gate, and the mad dog Shet who was lying on the city wall disappeared, Laurana raised her head, put her hands on her hips, and laughed loudly.I don't know how much profit it is, but the unscrupulous business lady lost her composure, and the image of a lady she had worked so hard to maintain was completely destroyed at this moment.

El secretly peeked into the pocket on the girl's hand with the Eye of True Sight, but he didn't expect that there were a few broken gems in that unremarkable pocket.This kind of gem is equivalent to a large currency unit in the upper class. Based on his past experience, these few gems are worth at least one hundred gold coins.

"Is it really okay to blackmail nobles like this?" El asked suspiciously.

"That kind of big man won't care about such a small amount of money." Laurana said nonchalantly, but she didn't directly deny the word "blackmail".

"Big man?" Al stared thoughtfully at the shining eyes of the black-hearted businessman.

"I remember all the student information of Galo Academy clearly. Only those young masters and ladies who hired teachers to teach alone have never met." Laurana made a gesture on her head and smiled mysteriously: "Although you can use We can know who it is by the method of elimination, but since they don't intend to reveal their identity, why should we bother ourselves?"

El nodded. Compared with the local snake girl, he had little understanding of the upper class of Istaren. Even if he knew Tony's real name, it was meaningless.

He was just curious about the young man's maturity that did not commensurate with his age. Although Tony seemed to be several years younger than himself, and even called Laurana a senior, he could vaguely feel it from his speech and behavior. His majesty is more like a mature adult.

Al had asked Tony about Tiana on the sidelines, and was a little surprised to learn why.Although he met the girl for the first time in front of the viscount of Queensland City, he never expected that she would still persevere in finding opportunities to communicate with the local lord.

As the most wanted criminal with the highest bounty in the northern counties, what purpose does Tiana have in mind?Maybe in the early morning of a certain day, wanted posters with portraits of young girls will be plastered all over the streets and alleys again.Although El told the old businessman that his cousin had gone to get medical treatment, her disfigured appearance had already been recorded by many people in the firm, and if something happened to her, she would inevitably be in trouble.

"Eh? Who stole my ham!"

The girl's exclamation brought Al back to his senses, and he looked intently.When Laurana was packing up the goods, she found that there was still an arm-long round ham left, and she planned to take it back to the firm to give the guys extra meals.After entering the city, when cleaning the carriage, I realized that the round ham had disappeared in full view!
Lorana rummaged again in disbelief, threw out all the kobold knapsacks that had been emptied, and put the remaining rare ores into sacks separately. In the end, she still couldn't find the round ham, but unexpectedly found another Same weird thing.

"I remember you threw this thing away, didn't you?" Laurana grabbed a very familiar spherical object, frowned and asked El with a disgusted expression.

"That...spider egg?" El reached out to take the big brown egg, and weighed it suspiciously: "I threw it away, that's right, was it picked up by the mercenary who climbed into the car, and then picked it up again?" fell into the car?"

He himself found the idea ridiculous.

"Forget it, keep it. Some nobles like to collect such weird things, and maybe they can sell some money." Laurana said that in her eyes, even garbage has value, it's just a matter of the level of income.

Before night fell, they finally returned to the firm.When he walked into the backyard, El raised his head habitually, and saw the bright-eyed little maid standing by the window as always.

It feels good to have someone waiting for you to go home. The boy subconsciously raised the corners of his mouth, and there was a warm and gentle flow in his heart, and the tiredness of the whole day seemed to have eased a lot.

"Heh heh, she is indeed a lovely girl. No wonder Elder Brother is so nonchalant about me, it turns out that he really has something in his heart." Laurana whispered with a half-smile.

"Her name is Tika, and we grew up together." El introduced with some embarrassment.At the critical juncture before, the old businessman had thought of matching him and Laurana, but at that time El had already cooked rice with Tika, so naturally he didn't agree.There is no shortage of people with broken mouths like Kevin in the firm, presumably the unscrupulous business lady already knows about this.

"A man with a family is more reliable and attractive, brother El, even I am afraid of being charmed by you."

Laurana blinked and teased meaningfully.Regarding the old businessman's unauthorized assertion, the girl was also a little ashamed in her heart.Although it was just a verbal proposal and it didn't come true, I couldn't blame El for it, but out of the girl's self-esteem, she still cared a lot about his rejection without hesitation.

"Miss Laurana should have many suitors in the academy." Ergan asked with a smile. "Those well-bred noble boys must be much better than me, a countryman."

"But Elder Brother seems more secure." The black-hearted businessman's eyes turned into crescent moons, like a fox who stole a chicken.

"Even if you say that, I will not give up my share of the dividend." El also returned a friendly smile: "It's a pity that I am such a petty man."

"Cut—" Laurana curled her lips, rolled her eyes in a very unladylike manner, and turned her head away.

(End of this chapter)